Syracuse basketball recruiting target Tyus Battle is still considering Orange ...

CBB 13/14 North Carolina Tar Heels vs #2 Syracuse Orange 01/11/14 (Full Game)

Syracuse, N.Y. Tyus Battle, a point guard in the Class of 2016 long coveted by the Syracuse basketball program, has not eliminated the Orange from his recruiting list, his father said today.

NCAA sanctions, announced last Friday, trimmed a total of 12 men"s basketball scholarships over four seasons starting in 2016-17, suspended head coach Jim Boeheim through nine ACC games next year and put the men"s basketball and football programs on probation for five years.

"At this point, now that I understand it better, as long as they have a scholarship for Tyus, as long as they can field a strong team that can compete for a national championship, I"m OK with it," Gary Battle said in a telephone conversation.

Battle said he has not spoken with Orange coaches who are recruiting his son since news of the NCAA sanctions broke. He has had previous conversations with SU coaches about potential punishments.

Whether or not Syracuse will have a scholarship to offer Battle, one of the nation"s most sought-after players in the Class of 2016, remains a mystery at this point. SU coaches have told Matthew Moyer, a 2016 forward who has verbally committed to the Orange, that a scholarship will be available for him. How the math of it all shakes out in the future depends on movement on SU"s current roster. Will players leave either this season or next season? Right now, that"s impossible to predict.

Battle, a 6-foot-5 guard who can play point guard or shooting guard, is currently recovering from a foot injury that has nagged him in his junior season at Gill St. Bernard"s School in Gladstone, N.J. He first injured the foot playing with USA Basketball last summer. His dad said Tyus aggravated the injury over the course of his high school season and is now wearing a protective boot to allow it to fully heal. The boot is scheduled to come off later this month.

Tyus Battle recently narrowed his list of potential college destinations to Connecticut, Duke, Louisville, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Syracuse.

Gary Battle said the family likes Syracuse University, its communications program, its proximity to their New Jersey home and Orange coaches" willingness to develop bigger point guards like Tyus.

"I told Tyus what was going on, he read a few articles," Gary Battle said. "He said, "If there"s just 10 guys on scholarship, there"s more playing time for me.""

Source: http://www.syracuse.com/orangebasketball/index.ssf/2015/03/syracuse_basketball_recruiting_target_tyus_battle_is_still_considering_orange_de.html

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Airliner Skids Off Snowy Runway At LaGuardia Airport

Delta passenger plane skids off runway at New York"s LaGuardia Airport

A few passengers were injured when an airliner skidded off the runway at LaGuardia Airport in New York on Thursday. A snow storm is disrupting air travel in the region.

Copyright 2015 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

A Delta passenger jet from Atlanta to New York skidded off the runway at LaGuardia Airport this morning in heavy snow. The plane crashed through a chain-link fence and came to rest just feet from Flushing Bay.

(SOUNDBITE OF TOWER CONTROL CALLS)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: We need a team to go onto 1-3.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Tower, you copy? Call 100. Runway 1-3 is closed.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: Call 100, you said runway 1-3 is closed?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Affirmative, 1-3 is closed.

BLOCK: Rescue crews on the radio with tower control, the audio posted on liveatc.net. Immediately all of LaGuardia was shut down.

(SOUNDBITE OF TOWER CONTROL CALLS)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #4: The airport is closed. We got a 3-4.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #5: Call 100. Say again?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #6: Tower, you have an aircraft on 3-1 on the north vehicle service road. Please advise crash rescue. LaGuardia Airport is closed at this time.

BLOCK: All 132 people aboard the plane were evacuated safely, some taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Fred Mogul of member station WNYC joins us from LaGuardia Airport, where officials are investigating the incident. And Fred, the images from this incident are dramatic. This plane swerved when it touched down, went through a fence, came really close to sliding into the icy water. This could"ve been much, much worse.

FRED MOGUL: It could"ve. You know, officials actually sort of downplayed how much danger the plane ever was, even though those images show how close it was to the water. They said, you know, actually that the passengers really weren"t at any great risk at any point. There were about 50 responders who obviously pounced on the scene. Some of them helped get the passengers to the terminal using buses, others helped stopped a fuel leak. But even that they said wasn"t that bad, it was about a gallon a minute pouring out, which was not that large a volume. They got foam on it quickly and environmental investigators are there, but they say over all, things are in pretty good shape.

BLOCK: And Fred, we mentioned this accident came in the midst of heavy snow. Are investigators blaming this on the weather?

MOGUL: Well, the officials from the Port Authority, which run all the airports in New York and New Jersey and this area, declined to speculate about what had caused the accident. Clearly the weather played some role, but they said that other pilots had landed planes just recently and had said the braking action on the tarmac was just fine. They had plowed runway. So they hadn"t been anticipating anything and they hadn"t shut the airport, clearly, though some individual flights had been canceled by that point. So they"re saying that, you know, they need to investigate further to find out what actually caused the plane to veer off the runway.

BLOCK: When are things likely to get back to normal? The airport was shut down completely for a time.

MOGUL: It was, for the better part of three hours. Now one of the two runways is still shut, the other is open. So, that obviously generates a lot of cancellations, but they expect the second runway will be open as well within a few more hours once the investigators have come from the NPSB to check the situation out.

BLOCK: OK. Fred Mogul of member station WNYC, speaking with us from LaGuardia Airport. Fred, thanks very much.

MOGUL: Thank you.

Copyright 2015 NPR. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to NPR. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR"s prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR"s programming is the audio.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2015/03/05/391041900/airliner-skids-off-snowy-runway-at-laguardia-airport

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Holi: Salman Khan celebrates with family and friends

SpiceJet"s Holi Flash Mob! Delhi Airport, March 5 2015

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Salman Khan"s Holi celebrations: Salman Khan is known for celebrating all festivals with much pomp and fanfare. Whether it is Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi or Eid, he brings in the celebrations with his family. So was the case when the big Khan family gathered together to celebrate the festival of colours, Holi. From the youngest member of the Khan family to the eldest, everyone was seen enjoying and playing around with colours and water. Let"s take a look at who did what at Salman Khan"s grand Holi celebration.

(All photographs have been taken from Arpita Khan"s Instagram account).

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/Holi-Salman-Khan-celebrates-with-family-and-friends/photostory/46483821.cms

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Katie Hopkins: I hope my son is gay

Too Fat To Work | This Morning - Katie Hopkins and Jay Cole Interview

Controversy-monger Katie Hopkins has claimed she hopes her eight-year-old son will be gay.

The former Celebrity Big Brother star told QX Magazine of her 8-year-old Maximillian: Is my son gay? I kinda hope he is.

Everybody with a gay son is much more savvy, the son tells them exactly what they think.

My son really loves stuff to do with dancing, and fashion and he couldnt give a toss about boys things like football.

I walk my children to school and the key thing about doing that is your kids talk to you about whats going on.

The kids took the p*** out of my daughter because she had boys shoes because she wanted boys shoes.

But she said to the other kids, These are my feet, these are my shoes, you dont have to wear them.

And thats what I hope my kids are going to be like. Id hope that Im around enough to know if they were being bullied for being gay.

Hopkins came second in the latest season of Celebrity Big Brother behind former glamour model Katie Price.

She previously claimed Tom Daleys coming out was lame, saying: It was really lame we all knew he was gay.

People love Tom Daley and the people who watch divers [are the] kind of the people who like to read Womens Weekly.

Source: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/03/06/katie-hopkins-i-hope-my-son-is-gay/

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Here"s your first look at Melissa Benoist as Supergirl

Get to Know GLEE"s Marley Rose, Melissa Benoist!

Russian authorities announced on Saturday that they had arrested two men in connection with the murder of political opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, The Guardian reports.

Alexander Bortnikov, head of Russia"s federal security service, named the pair as Anzor Gubashev and Zaur Dadayev, both from the southern region of Caucasus. It was unclear whether authorities believe either detained man is suspected of actually killing Nemtsov, or just of being involved in the murder.

Nemtsov, 55,was shot four times in the back while walking near the Kremlin on Feb. 27. Other opposition members have suggested that the killing could not have occurred without government help, and may have been meant to send a message.

"Russia has crossed the line after this murder," Nemtsov"s daughter Zhanna told CNN. "People will be frightened to express ideas contrary to the official standpoint."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has condemned the murder of his longtime opponent as a "provocation" and a "vile and cynical murder."

Source: http://theweek.com/speedreads/542951/heres-first-look-melissa-benoist-assupergirl

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Netflix"s "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt": What the Critics Are Saying

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt - Songify This!

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, created by 30 Rock"s Robert Carlock and Tina Fey, stars Ellie Kemperas a woman who was rescued from a doomsday cult and is adjusting to New York City life after 15 years spent in a bunker.

Already renewed for a second season by Netflix, the quirky comedy series (originally slated for NBC) also starsTituss Burgess, Jane Krakowski,Lauren Adams, Sara Chase, Sol Miranda and Carol Kane, and debuts in full on Friday, March 6.

See what top critics are saying about Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt:

The Hollywood Reporter"s Tim Goodman writes, "The good news is that Kimmy is already really good; in the first six episodes, each one gets better as it goes (though the pilot is particularly strong).Kempergives a virtuoso performance as Kimmy Schmidt. ...Kemper is really the show everyone is orbiting around her boundless, infectious energy. Like most series, the supporting roles eventually flesh themselves out over time, but the main character really has to nail it, and Kemper does that in every scene. Krakowski, ever the pro at this kind of role, also is given numerous great lines of her own."

Additionally, "Fey and Carlock as the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt writers do an excellent job balancing the many stories available to them, though perhaps a little too much emphasis is placed on Jacquelines (Krakowski) family. Kimmy trying to keep her secret so people dont freak out on her (or about her) coupled with her enthusiasm for overcoming lifes obstacles is more than enough fodder. ...Though Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt joins other strong freshman comedies like Fresh Off the Boat and The Last Man on Earth, I have a feeling the show will be something even better next season, when its a wholly Netflix entity and Fey and Carlock can discover what that kind of creative freedom allows them."

The New York Times" Alessandra Stanley says, "The series leavens wacky absurdity with acid wit and is very funny. Fey, who created 30 Rock, andCarlock, its showrunner, apply that shows alchemy to this one, and it works. Almost every scene has both whimsy and something darker, at once daftly effervescent and snidely cynical." Of being on Netflix, she notes, "Sitcoms arent dead, but theyre increasingly spreading beyond the traditional networks. ...The streaming service will release all 13 episodes of "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" on Friday, and thats useful, because the series finds its full comic verve after the first two, which have to establish a lot of back story."

Read moreTina Fey: What Netflix Move Means for "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"

Time"sJamesPoniewoziksays NBC"s decision to sell to Netflix "was probably the best thing possible forKimmy, which is delightful but strange even by the standards of30 Rock, and could have easily, quickly died on network TV. ...The shows zaniness, broad characters and rapid-fire jokes are pure30 Rock, as is its overallaesthetic." With a "sunnier presence," a "darker core" and "even more pronounced" feminism, "its connecting and contrasting the experience of outsiders, black and white, straight woman and gay man, sister-wife and trophy wife. And like30 Rock, it draws comedy from the myriad ways an expensive, competitive city like New York beats people down." Plus, "KemperandKimmymake one of TVs most natural matches of actor and character since someone decided to makeLou Ferrignothe Hulk. Shes a terrific physical comic, able to combinenaivetewith a sense of cunning, and shes contagiously joyous its as ifLucille Ballhad a baby with a rainbow."

RogerEbert.com"sBrian Tallerico says the show is "defiantly strange, and I think thats one of the reasons I like it so much. ...People upset about the SNLISIS commercial may want to avoid Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Its a dark, strange show, complete with flashbacks to Kimmys time in the bunker. The hook of the program is that while Kimmy has been through stuff that anyone would find horrific, she refuses to let life get her down, but the people she meets in NYC who often have everything do nothing but complain. And Kempers"aw shucks" timing is phenomenal. She jumps in with both feet and as many broad expressions as she can find. Its the kind of awesome, committed performance you see from Sacha Baron Cohen in his films ridiculously over-the-top but unafraid at the same time."

The San Francisco Chronicle"sDavid Wiegand writes that it "may be cut from similar comedic cloth as 30 Rock, but no one who loves rich, offbeat comedy will be complaining. ... The humor is based on a savvy understanding of sketch-comedy exaggeration and satire, worked into an episodic sitcom format."Krakowski"seems to have put whatever reservations she might have had about becoming too much of a type on the back burner for a chance to work in a Fey-Carlock show again," and "Kemper is hilarious, advancing perkiness to a comically psychotic level without having Kimmy ever lose her fundamental appeal."

Twitter: @cashleelee

Source: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-review-netflix-779443

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Movie Review: Unfinished Business Is More Serious Than Funny

Unfinished Business 2 - Nigerian Nollywood Movie
Photo: Jessica Miglio/Twentieth Century Fox

Does Vince Vaughn do actual comedies anymore? Once the poster child for bros-behaving-badly fare, Vaughn has recently begun engaging in an interesting, occasionally perplexing bait-and-switch: Lure us with the promise of wild antics (the posters forUnfinished Businessdepict Vaughn and co-stars Tom Wilkinson and Dave Franco in various states of bacchanalia), then deliver something more somber and sensitive instead. Looking back over my review ofDelivery Man, the 2013 sperm-donor comedy-drama Vaughn made with hisUnfinished Businessdirector Ken Scott, I see that I basically said the same thing then, too. So maybe I should stop being so perplexed.

But still. For its first half, Unfinished Business is surprisingly acerbic and serious, more Up in the Air than Office Space. It opens mid-conversation, as we see St. Louis mineral salesman Dan Trunkman (Vaughn) bickering with his ruthless boss Chuck (Sienna Miller yes, you read that right) over a 5 percent pay cut. The next thing he knows, Dan has quit to form his own rival company and asked his co-workers to join him, la Jerry Maguire. But the only two people who accompany him to the parking lot are Timothy (Wilkinson), a veteran employee who"s been separately let go for being too old, and Mike (Franco), a young man who was only there for an interview. They all need the work, however: Dan has a son being bullied for his weight and a daughter unhappy at school, and his wife wants to send them to private school; Timothy really, really wants to divorce his wife, but he also wants to leave her a comfortable amount of money and go off on his own and live a little; Mike, it turns out, is a young man with special needs and could really use the confidence boost.

Dan"s new company flounders, of course: One year later, it"s still the same three guys, and their office is a Dunkin" Donuts. But then they find out that they may have scored a big deal with a major client, and they fly to Portland, then to Berlin, to make "the handshake," as it were. Things don"t turn out as planned: Their trip to Berlin coincides with a G8 meeting (and concomitant protest), a marathon, and Europes largest gay fetish convention. Oh, and it turns out their supposedly done business deal is a bit shakier than promised.

Does any of this actually sound funny to you? It sounds potentially offensive more than anything else, like the kinds of jokes Vaughn and his cohort might have gotten away with 15 years ago. But amazingly, Unfinished Business has a gentle touch: Yes, they do run into the gay fetish scene, but it results in one of the more good-natured (and explicit) glory hole setpieces you"ll see in a mainstream comedy. The tonally weird bits involving Mikes dim antics are played somewhat for laughs, but theyre light ones; the film is clearly on the sheltered young mans side, more interested in letting him explore than poking fun at him. Meanwhile, Timothy gets both the requisite horndog moments as well as some genuine pathos. At times, the film seems to be hinting at a darker theme of masculine identity: Our protagonists once saw themselves as the male breadwinners of yore; that world is changing, so their business trip has a weirdly elegiac feel. They dont quite know how to operate in this new scene, but theyre learning. Alas, the movie doesnt really do much with this subtext, maybe because it doesnt quite have the depth or dexterity to do such a loaded subject justice.

Not unlike Delivery Man, Unfinished Business is a movie at war with itself: It wants to be serious and it is but it wants to try to deliver the comedic goods as well. Sometimes, the tonal dissonance works. At one point, Dan checks into what appears to be the last hotel room in Berlin; it turns out that its not technically a hotel room at all, but a piece of art an exhibition of an American businessman in a hotel room, and hes paying for the privilege of being gawked at by tourists. But the laughs here are dry, not uproarious, and theyre just unsettling enough to work.

Theres plenty to like in Unfinished Business, even though viewers expecting the debauchery of a Wedding Crashers will likely leave disappointed. I feel for Vince Vaughn, I really do. He clearly wants to explore this more serious vein, but he keeps having to sell his former high-concept persona. Its a fascinating existential dilemma for a movie star to find himself in; if only it resulted in better movies.

Source: http://www.vulture.com/2015/03/movie-review-unfinished-business.html

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